The mayor, trying to abstain from responsibility, said that it is the companies that refused to accept the increase demanded by workers, â€œignoringâ€ the fact that the responsibility for sourcing such an essential service such as street cleaning falls upon the PT in city halls across the country. Despite the name â€œWorkersâ€™ Party,â€ it governs for big businesses and favors companies such as those that now refuse to give a fair wage increase to these workers. While politicians pursue corruption cases and investigations into the misappropriation of funds, they continue to receive exorbitant salaries. We challenge the mayor to try to survive with the salary of a street sweeper or garbage collector! If you value the workers, then why not contract these workers directly through the city hall, and offer equal pay, equal rights for all?

SIEMACO (Union of Employees in Companies Providing Services for Cleanliness and Conservation, Urban Cleaning, and Maintenance of Public and Private), like the union in Rio de Janeiro, is directed by the UGT. Throughout the week the UGT tried to prevent the unification of the six cities on strike and tried to stifle Rio de Janeiro from being used as an example by equating it with terrorism, saying it would be bad for the image of ABCDMR workers to follow, thus acting to serve the employers by dividing and weakening the workers.

At the last meeting held on Friday (April 4th), the UGT bureaucracy shamefully betrayed the workers by not allowing even minimal democracy, banning all workersâ€™ use of the microphone, and not allowing a vote on the proper response to the TRTâ€™s (Regional Labor Court) decision to declare the strike illegal. The union that should have been on the side of the workers said: â€œWe cannot strike against the courts. The decision was made, the employer association will not increase its proposal of 10%, and there is nothing more to do. The official position of the union is to end the strike, and we will talk with the workers to fulfill this decision.â€ [1] Rejection of the unionâ€™s treacherous policy was huge. With lots of screaming, workers announced that the union would not go away, and they would continue the fight for their demands. Organized by workersâ€™ shops floor committees, they left the meeting with many tasks to reorganize the movement and insist on their demands.

The PT newspaper ABCDMaior, freely distributed, also tried to discredit the struggle of the sanitation workers by saying in the General Assembly on Friday [2] that the strike was considered abusive and announced the attempt to defeat it orchestrated by the Regional Labor Court (TRT) and the UGT union bureaucracy: â€œthe hearing decided on an adjustment of 10%, as proposed by the companies. The trial authorized compensation for the days of the strike, but has not guaranteed job security to the strikers.â€

Independent rank-and-file organization without trust in the traitor union, governments or bosses!

Today, Monday, there will be a great opportunity for workers to unite the six cities on strike through their elected and recallable strike committee leaders and a general assembly. This organization is decisive for the sanitation workers to silence the threats of replacement for the strike days, layoffs, and the â€œnon-negotiableâ€ 15% wage increase.

Building upon the support given by the SÃ£o Paulo subway and RJ sanitation workers, we appeal to leftist organizations, social movements, and human rights groups to show solidarity with the ABCDMR sanitation workersâ€™ strike. We believe that if the majority wing of ANEL and CSP-CONLUTAS, both directed by PSTU, take this campaign we are calling on facebook Todo apoio a luta dos garis do ABCDMR [Everyone support the ABCDMR Sanitations Workers] to the top of its hierarchy, we can discuss in every workplace and organize a strike fund to create conditions that allow these workers to continue fighting and winning popular support. We have already gathered several photos of support and more than 450 â€œlikes.â€

So with a strong show of solidarity, workers and youth demonstrate that after the June protests last year and the sanitation workersâ€™ victory in Rio de Janeiro, the workers are returning to the national political scene with full force.

JUST LIKE IN RIO, THE ABC SANITATION WORKERS CAN WIN!
We are on the side of the sanitation workers by supporting the following demands:
15.39% WAGE INCREASE NOW! MAY THE MAYORS EARN THE SAME AS THE SANITATION WORKERS!
NO WAGE LOSSES FOR STRIKE DAYS! FOR THE RIGHT TO STRIKE!
NO LAYOFFS, RETALIATION OR POLITICAL PERSECUTION! FOR A UNION WITHOUT BUREAUCRATS, IN THE HANDS OF AND CONTROLLED BY THE WORKERS!